Click for Audio: Self Integrity
Jesus advised us to love our neighbor as ourselves. We often focus on the first half of this statement yet engage in a rather abusive relationship with our self. I’ve said many times, however, that you can only love your neighbor to the extent that you love your self.
Self love is not the same thing as self-centered egotism. In her book, Lessons In Truth, Emilie Cady draws a very clear distinction between individuality (the spiritual dimension within everyone) and personality (the spiritually disconnected ego). The love we experience—both given and received—is really a welling up of a deeper dimension of our spiritual nature, that deeper foundation of individuality. Love is not a quantity of beautiful emotion that we possess and give out or withhold at will. Love is an integral component of our being, like the color blue is an integral component of white light. The expression of love must include the embracing of one’s Self, not in an egotistical way, but in a way that recognizes our role as a channel through which love is expressed as an aspect of our wholeness.
Our individuality, our true Self, is that which the Bible refers to as the image and likeness of God. It’s that part that rises up from the Eternal. Many of us have fallen out of touch with this deeper dimension and have lived and thought of ourselves only in terms of the personality level. It’s very important that we reconnect with this foundational aspect of our being, for from it all the good that we seek flows. The true Self is our source of contentment, of power, of peace and of joy. If we are not centered in our spiritual nature, we try to get what we feel we lack from others and online pharmacy our relationships run the risk of becoming needy and manipulative.
To be in integrity with your Self is to express the qualities of God in all the things you do, including your relationships. When you love from this Self, you will have no trouble loving your neighbor.
Hi Doug, Good to talk to you again. It was a very good lesson Sunday and I always take something good away from your talks. Question; over the last several years ,in my studies, I have thought that I am identical to God. But it seemed presumptuous to think that I am God. But I have read it and you said it so maybe I should re-evaluate my thinking. Would you expand on this thought please? Also, have you personally known of someone in Unity having had a physical healing that was maybe exceptional? I would appreciate your comments on this. Thanks so much for your time. Sincerely, Jim Davis P.S. I tried to send this from your comment page but could not fid the “send” button.
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Hello Jim,
Apparently you found send button because here you are.
Emilie Cady gave your question good perspective when she talked about the drop of water taken from the ocean. The drop is the same water but it is not the ocean. As expressions of God, we are not the whole of God, but we are the love, power, life, and intelligence of God–one and the same.
We have formed a senses-based identity that sees ourselves as separate from God, which is why we have put God in the sky. Think of your relationship to God as a sponge immersed in the water. The water is in the sponge and the sponge is in the water. Think of the water as God and you get a sense of the relationship. Cady’s chapter, Statement of Being, is a good refresher on this subject.
I have witnessed a number of healings through the years, though not necessarily instantaneous. Both Charles and no prescription levitra Myrtle Fillmore write extensively about their own healings. You can search this site: http://truthunity.com for various materials on the Fillmore’s perspective on healing.
Hope this helps.